THE SEARCH FOR A SISTER.DECADES OF GUILT.WHO TO TRUST?Jenna is desperate to find her younger sister, who was taken from her when she was seven years old. She believed Caitlyn, who was adopted by a wealthy family, was doing fine, only to discover her sibling vanished under eerie circumstances. Unfortunately, Jenna’s attracted the attention of the last man to see her sister alive. Grant has returned to town to take over his ailing father’s law practice. When his socialite parents try to interfere in his relationship with Jenna, a woman they consider lower class, he puts his foot down. He intends to marry the adorable baker, and no one will change his mind—{add hyphen or comma} not even Jenna. Jenna and Grant’s future together is challenged when a stranger brings upheaval, and their trust in each other is severely tested by this shocking surprise. WILL JENNA AND GRANT LEARN TO TRUST ONE ANOTHER BEFORE ALL IS LOST? The ELKRIDGE SERIES is a set of steamy contemporary romance novels about wounded women and the men who heal them. If you like heartfelt characters, deep topics with powerful emotional cores, and happy endings, then you’ll love Lyz Kelley’s incredible tales of strength, love, and survival.

I love reading this series. This one did not disappoint me. This is another emotional story. You will fall in love with Jenna and Grant. Lyz did an amazing job with developing the characters. This story will tug at your heart strings. I love how Lyz get each story to come together. I can't wait to read the next book in this series. I need to find out what is going to happen next in Elkridge. Keep up the awesome work Lyz! I highly recommend this one!

Meet the Author

Award-winning, contemporary romance author Lyz Kelley lives in a small community in Colorado with her husband and several four-legged family members. Lyz writes about brave women who have faced extraordinary challenges, and the honorable men who have an enormous capacity to love, even if they may not know it.

A healing love is at the heart of her book series. Creating wounded yet amazing characters—discovering what drives them, frightens them, heals them, makes them laugh—is what gives her joy. Lyz is pleased to share that joy through her masterfully written stories.

To keep tabs on her award-winning novels, connect with Lyz by signing up for her newsletter at LyzKelley.com. Also visit LyzKelleysHeroes.com to join Kelley's Heroes, Lyz's VIP club. Members receive an exclusive copy of A Soldier’s Wife, learn about thoughtful giveaways, and get a sneak peek at upcoming releases. Members may even get the opportunity to receive advanced reader copies. Check out LyzKelley.com for more information.

Why would I want to read the Elkridge Series? Each book in the Elkridge series is a piece to a puzzle—a suspenseful mystery involving the murder of a small-town sheriff. You get six contemporary romance books to figure out the mystery and a bunch of happy ever after (HEA) endings. Two novels in this fiction series—Blinded and Orphaned—are award-winning romance books.

Where is Elkridge, Colorado?Elkridge exists only in my mind. On any given day, I can stop at River Creek Café for Jenna's fresh baked cinnamon rolls, or shop for a birthday present at Mara's Blooms, or get my nails done at Kym’s nail salon. Sitting in the park eating lunch, I can watch the kids play and hear the latest gossip from neighbors. Later, if I want, I can stop at Mad Jack’s to hear a local band play and get some dinner. Elkridge is a great small town where the sun shines 360 days a year and people do their best to make ends meet.

Would you tell us about your writing process? It takes me awhile to write each stand-alone story because I am passionate about creating the very best stories for my readers. These contemporary romance books have complex plots and sub-plots and include suspense romance threads, with deep emotional women’s fiction elements, humor and even a bit of quirkiness. I’m so excited to see the 5-star ratings because it means I’ve created the ideal mix to provide readers with a few hours of enjoyment.

I started thinking about this story more than 10 years ago after I chatted with New York Times best-selling authorGrace Burrowes following a writing workshop. A child advocate attorney in Maryland, she told tales of wonderful foster families in the area, no names included, who warmed my heart. Years later, I volunteered at Mount Saint Vincent’s, a non-profit in Denver, where I discovered teachers, psychologists, and administrators who were passionate about helping kids removed from abusive homes. Add those two things together, and I started to ask, what if. What if there were two sisters: the older one is placed in foster care, and the younger is adopted by what seemed to be perfect parents? What if the one, who didn’t get a forever family, had a happy and healthy upbringing? From there, the story came alive and ORPHANED was born.

How did you come up with the idea for Grant’s character?

When the story opens, Grant’s love for Jenna never wavers. How odd. Right? Usually, it takes pages and pages for the hero to fall in love with the heroine. That’s the normal course of things, but I’ve never liked rigid rules. Grant falling in love with Jenna before he really knows her is what intrigued me about him. He’s already in love, and then that love is tested to the point of breaking. That’s what creates a good drama.

Jenna is a diabetic baker. How does that work?

Can you see the irony in having a diabetic baker? I can. But this combination fits Jenna’s need for family. She must rely on others to taste her baked goods, which creates a conflict for the independent baker. Baking is her way of creating a family.

Finding a cure for diabetes is also something I care about. Several of my family members have diabetes, and I wanted to highlight the struggle, the embarrassment, the challenge of living with the condition. I hope a cure is found soon.

Are you still adding clues to Sheriff Sam’s murder?

Yep…big time. Hope you are enjoying playing detective and finding the clues as to who murdered Sam.

Comments

Chantelle, thank you for such a wonderful review. You made me a little weepy. I so appreciate you. I now know there is one person in the world who likes my story! My dream has come true. Thank you for putting a skip in my step today!!!

Fifteen
podcast hosts and authors share their favorite short story they've
ever written…

Spirits
by James A. Moore Two
strangers brought together by tragedy are haunted by ghosts of the
past. The
Tin Box by Kelli Owen After
the death of their grandma, siblings make a macabre discovery amongst
her belongings. Some secrets were meant to go to the grave... Short
Straw by Jay Wilburn After
drawing the short straw, the youngest son is delegated to wake every
year to monitor his sleeping family after an apocalypse forced them
into bunkers. But there’s something else out there…..with claws. The
Rag and Bone Man by John Urbancik The
Rag and Bone Man wanders—buying, selling, finding and collecting.
He always has what you need. He always finds what he wants. Or does
he have what you want and finds what he needs? The
Priest by Jaimie Engle A
fallen angel hopes to redeem himself and…